Thursday, 22 January 2009

British rail... problem solved!

I reckon I've just solved the biggest problem that plagues British Rail* today.

It's a very simple solution and it costs next to nothing.

Are you ready?

... Change the timetables.

The trains obviously can't keep up with the current one.

The biggest problem commuters have is missing connections. If the timetables were scheduled better, commuters would be able to calculate their journeys more reliably. An added side effect is that, all of a sudden, rail company reliability statistics would be up and cancellations down. The trains are already overcrowded (this solution doesn't resolve that, but British Rail* aren't doing anything about it either) and already running on a delayed schedule.

Nothing actually changes -- except the advertised times. People would be less frustrated with the system when faced with a realistic timetable. I don't think this is a unique idea. I certainly don't think solves all the problems. But it is a cheap, easy solution to rail customer satisfaction levels.

*There's no single entity running all the trains any more. This should really be addressed to all the individual train companies that make up "British Rail".